And so It begins again
by TharAmira
Summary: A Dragon Slayer's last thoughts.


**_And so It begins again..._**

**Author's note**  
**For us as the player, having our characters lose their memories and their stats reset upon each DK is just part of the game. But I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's wondered how my character would have felt about it all. So here's my attempt to answer that question... at least in regards to my own character.**

* * *

_Run!_

My feet might as well be made of lead; my lungs are burning, whether from breathing in Her toxic fumes or from exertion, I have no idea.

_Keep moving!_

I'm starting to lose my sense of balance now; I'm stumbling along as if I've just left (or been kicked out of) the Inn after another of those drinking games Seth is always coming up with. My vision is blurring _(am I crying, or am I simply wounded and exhausted?). _My ears are ringing _(or is it the dying dragon's cries, still echoing behind me?). _The stench of Her blood is strong on my armour _(will I ever get the stains out?)_. My weapon is in my hand _(for all the good it'll do me now; I couldn't kill a lizard at this point, not with these shaking limbs and struggling just to stay awake)._ I can barely see where I'm going, or remember where it was I wanted to go.

_Just get to the Hut. You'll be safe once you're in the Hut!_

I've dropped my weapon somewhere; _it doesn't matter, keep going!_ The ties holding my armour to my body are unraveling _(good, there's less of Her blood on me now (Does it really make any difference? My clothes under the armour are drenched in it too.)) Where am I even going again?_

The next thing I know, I'm lying in a shallow stream, unable to muster the strength to move. _Why is it so dark and silent? No time to ponder that, get up!_

There's no use in trying, though. Already I am losing what's left of my focus.

_No... NO! GET UP! **GET UP!**_

It occurs to me suddenly why I can't sense anything. It's not a lack of things to sense, it's my senses that are failing me.

I should have known something like this would happen. How many times has someone set out to vanquish the Dragon? How many times did Her activity in the area abruptly cease, only to start again many months later? How many times has a warrior gone missing after supposedly 'staving Her off for a while'? How many have come back, not remembering much, and astonished to hear that they are the new village hero for having 'forced Her to retreat'?

_...Which way is it to the Healer's Hut, again?_

I remember, when I walked into the Village one day, filthy and exhausted for seemingly no reason. I remember being guided to my house, a house I do not remember building, by clan mates from a clan I do not remember founding. I remember my friends' pained smiles when I failed to recognise them. I remember joining up at the Training Arena, the strange looks my masters would give me. I remember how easily some skills had come to me, skills that, going by other people's accounts, I had already learned.

(The stream is beginning to wash the blood off of me now and it lends me some small amount of strength.

It also washes something out of my pocket.

_That's the token Vi gave me, something about it protecting me in battle..._

I try to grab at it, barely able to see it, but it floats away.

_No!_

That token, with the three interlocking triangles etched onto it, had saved my life so many times- and Violet made it for me! I can't lose that, not now!

But it's no use. It drifted out of reach and out of sight, and I felt some part of me wither and die.

_...I'll have to get it back once I've been Healed. I haven't the energy to look for it right now._)

...All those hours spent 'practicing' in the Forest, all that time spent in my Clan Forge, perfecting my weapons and armour, all the spells I learned to increase my stamina, my speed, my strength, all of it gone to waste...

_Spells, spells... what's the one that gives you energy when you're exhausted?_

My head is spinning now.

_No, I have to remember, I have to..._

_What do I need to remember?_

_...Hah._

_All that talk of slaying the Dragon... and now look at me..._

_..._

I wake suddenly; I'm terribly cold, but I don't know why. It takes me a while to come back to my senses enough to notice that I'm not in my bed at home.

_Where am I? _

_A forest? What am I doing lying in a stream in the middle of a forest?_

I should get up. Yes, I should get going... somewhere.

_I was going somewhere. Where?_

I should probably find civilisation first, before I try to determine where I was headed and how to get there. It's not very safe in the forest, especially with that Green Dragon said to be terrorising the countryside.

_As I struggle to my feet, I spot something lying in the mud not far from where I was. I pick it up; it has three interlocking triangles etched onto it. Looks like a good luck charm of some sort. Not being the type to believe in such things, I drop it back into the water and clamber out of the stream and up the bank._

I don't look back as I make my way through the trees, trying to find a game trail or some sort of sign to lead me to the nearest village.


End file.
